Door closing and actuating mechanism for parking meters



J. O. EAMES July 28, 1959 DOOR CLOSING AND ACTUATING NECHANISM FORPARKING METERS 4 Sheets-Sheet l Original Filed June 30, 1949 INVENTOR Em w A M JWM, 7.

DOOR CLOSING AND ACTUATING MECHANISM FOR PARKING METERS Original FiledJune 30, 1949 J. O. EAMES July 2s, 1959v 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Titz# J. O.EAMES July 2s, 1959 DOOR CLOSING AND ACTUATING MECHANISM FOR PARKINGMETERS Original Filed June 30, 1949 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 T uzlj.

ML NEY.S

INVENTOR J5/ne.; d [ame: OR

July 28, 1959 J. o. EAMES 2,896,764

DOOR CLOSING AND ACTUATING MECHANISM FOR PARKING METERS Original FiledJune 50, 1949 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR ...7a/nef 0. Eames nited StatesPatent IDOOR CLOSING ACTUATING MECHANISM FOR PARKING METERS James 0.Eames, Washington, Conn., assignor to The Michaels Art Bronze Company,Incorporated, Covington, Ky., a corporation of Kentucky Originalapplication June 30, '1949, Serial No. 102,189, now Patent No.2,721,641, dated October 25, 1955. Divided and this application August:18, 1955, Serial No. 529,286

8 Claims. (Cl. 194-,72)

The present invention relates to vehicle parking meters and relates,more particularly, to a door closing and actuating mechanism for parkingmeters.

The present application is a division of my copending application forLetters Patent Serial No. 102,189, tiled June 30, 1949, entitled ParkingMeter Mechanism on which U.S. Patent No. 2,721,641 issued October 25,1955.

In particular, the invention relates to parking metersV of the typeWhere a coin is deposited for the purchase of a specified period ofparking. Such meters have, in general, been designated as either manualor automatic meters in accordance with the commonly understood andaccepted meaning of such terms. Brieily, the manual type of meter is onethat requires that a parker perform some act in addition to the depositof a coin in order to place the meter in operation, Whereas theautomatic type of meter is one that requires only the deposit of a coinby the parker to place the meter in operation.

While the present invention has particular application to automaticmeters, it will be understood that the invention is not limited toautomatic meters and may be applied to manual or other types of metersif desired.

A meter in which the present invention may be used is also illustratedand described in United States Letters Patent No. 2,628,699 issuedFebruary 17, 1953 in the names of Roy S. Sanford and James O. Eames forParking Meter Mechanisms.

An object of the invention is to provide a substantially weatherproofclosure for the coin entrance slot and .a simple, but efficient coinoperated mechanism for operating the meter in association with the coinslot closing mechanism.

These objects and advantages of the invention and various other objectsand advantages of the invention will be apparent and best understood byreference to the following description and the accompanying drawings inwhich:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation in partial section taken from the front of adoor closing and actuating mechanism embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation in partial section taken from the rear of thedoor closing and actuating mechanism illustrated in Fig. 1 with themeter housing being omitted;

. Figs. 3 and 4 are side views in partial section of a portion of themechanism shown in Fig. 2, but with the parts in different operatingpositions;

Fig. 5 is a section View taken along the line 5--5 of Fig. 3 butomitting the meter housing;

Fig. 6 is a side elevation from the front illustrating a modied form ofa door closing and actuating mechanism embodying the invention;

Fig. 7 is a side elevation from the rear of the mech-v anism illustratedin Fig. 6;

Figs. 8 and 9 are views corresponding to Fig. 7 with the parts indifferent operating positions; and

Fig. l0 is a top view of the mechanism illustrated in Figs. 7 through 9.

Referring to the drawings in detail, the door closing and actuatingmechanism along with other parts of the meter mechanism are supported ona chassis plate 15 with the various parts of the mechanism being mountedon both sides thereof. As shown in Fig. 1, the chassis plate and themechanism assembled thereon areenclosed within a housing 16 of the usualweatherproof construction. The chassis plate 15 with the meter mechanismysupported thereon may be removable from the housing as a unit for easein repair or replacement. The housing 16 is supported in the usualmanner by a post (not shown) which is located at an appropriate positionin relation to a parking space.

The housing 16 has a coin slot 17 .through which a coin may be insertededgewise by the parker. The coin slot 17 is normally closed by a door 18that is yieldably pressed against the coin slot from the inside of thehousing. The door 18 is pivotally supported between the bifurcated armsof a door-supporting strut 19. The pivotal mounting of the door 18permits the door to t liush against the housing to make a tight,weatherproof seal at the coin slot opening and it also permits the door18 to assume a directly opposed position relative to a coin that isinserted in the coin slot. The door-supporting strut 19 is pivoted at 20on an 4actuator lever 21. The actuator lever 21 is in turn pivoted onthe chassis plate 15 at 22 (see Fig. 2) and is resiliently urged in adoor closing direction by an actuator .spring 23. Thus, upon insertionof a coin in the coin slot 17, the door 18 is forced inward by thepressure exerted against the coin. This moves the door-supporting strut19 and the actua- .tor lever 21 first to the position shown in Fig. 4.During its movement to this position, the door-supporting strut 19 isheld against movement relative to the actuator lever 21 by a pin 24which is carried by the door strut and engages with a notch 25a in aslot 25 in a door latch 26.

The door latch 26 is pivoted at 27 on the actuator lever 2 1 and has anarm 2'8 which engages with a latch releasing pin 29 that is adjustablymounted on the chassis plate 15. When the door supporting strut 19 andthe actuator lever 21 are moved back by the coin to a point where theyarm 28 of theV door latch 26 strikes the adjustable latch release pin29, the door latch 26 pivots yabout the point 27 and disengages thenotch 25a in the slot 25 from the pin 24. This permits the doorsupporting strut then to swing upwardly to the position 4shown in Fig. 4so that the coin being inserted may pass freely into a coin chute 30.When this occurs, the door 18 and the actuator lever 21 are released andthe door 18 returns to its slot closing position `as shown by the dotand dash lines in Fig. 4. f

In the return movement, the door 18 is urged downwardly toward its slotclosing position by `a door closer lever 31. The door closer lever 31 ispivoted at 32 on the chassis plate 15 and is urged into engagement withthe door supporting strut 19 to hold the door in door closing positionby a door closing spring 33 that is conf nected to the free end thereof.When a coin is pushed into the coin slot 17 forcing the actuator lever21 inward, an arm 34 extending from the actuator lever 21 engages with aroller 35 on the door closer lever 31 and raises the door closing lever31 from engagement with the door strut 19 as indicated in Fig. 3. Thus,the door closer lever 31 will not interfere with the door supportingstrut 19 swinging upward 'when the door latch 26 is released. However,when the coin passes into the coin chute 30, the actuator spring 23returns the actuator lever 21 to its initial position and carries thearm 34 out of engagement with the roller 35 permitting the door closer31 to reengage with the door strut 19 and return the door 18 positivelyto its slot closing position under the force of the door closer spring33. The door latch`arni'28: is also 3 released from the stop 29 and thepin 24 re-engages with the notch 25min the slot 25 in the door latch 26upon this movement of the actuator prior to insertion of the next coin.

The operation of the mechanism which has just been described followingthe release of a coin, is positive Iand takes place very rapidly. If forany reason the coin. does Y not pass freely down the coin chute 30, thereturn of the door 18 to slot closing position has a tendency to kickthe coin down the coin chute 30 in addition to providing a positiveweatherproof closure for the coin slot 17.

The actuator lever 21 carries a roller 36 mounted on a pin 36a locatedat one end of the actuator lever 2'1 and extending therefrom. The pin36a projects through an aperture in the chassis plate 15 at one sidethereof andV the roller 36 engages with a cam surface 37 on one end ofan intermediate lever 3S. When a coin is pushed plate 15 so that thedownward movement of the roller 36.

forces the clam end of the intermediate lever down and raises the otherend of the intermediate lever.

The remainder of the meter mechanism and its operation are fullydescribed in my copending application Serial No. 102,189 tiled June 30,1949, now Patent No. 2,721,641, of which this application is a division,and such description need not be repeated here.

The operation of the mechanism that has been described above will now bebriey summarized. When a .coin is inserted edgewise through the coinslot'17 and' is pushed against the door 18, the door-supporting strut 19and the actuator lever 21 `are forced inward. The resulting movement ofthe actuator lever 21 cocks the meter mechanism for operation and italso raises the door closing lever 31 from engagement with thedoorsupporting strut 19. As the thrust of the coin completes the inwardmovement of the actuator lever 21, the latch 26 securing the door strut19 to the actuator lever 21 is. released permitting the door strut 19 toswing upwardly lso that the coin may drop into the coin chute 30. Whenthe coin drops into the coin chute 30 the actuator lever 21 is returnedto its initial position by the actuator spring 23 'and thedoor-supporting strut 19 with the door 18 are also returned to theirinitial positions by the door. closer 31 'and the door closer spring 33at which time the door latch 26 is re-engaged'.

The modiiied form of door closing and actuating mechanism illustrated inFigs. 6 through 10 will now be described. This mechanism is also shownand described but not claimed in the copending application Serial No.377,933 filed' September 1', 1953., now Patent No. 2,831,- 557, issuedApril 22, 1958' in the names ofv James O. Eames and. Cecil H. Taylor andentitled Parking Meter.

Referring to Figs. 6 and 8, which illustrate the face and rear of amodified form of door closing and actuating mechanism, respectively, acoin 50. upon being inserted through a coin slot 51 in the housing orcase 52 contacts with the forward face of a coin door 53 which, ispivotally mounted on the forward end of astrut 54' by means of a pin 55positioned -above the center line ofthe coin slot. The pin 55 extendsthrough the strut and through slotted openingsv 56 in the sides ofthedoor. A

spring 57 resiliently unges the `door into engagment withD the case soas to close the coin slot and the limited'movement of the door on thestrut which is permitted by the slots 56 compensates for slightvariations that may exist in respect to the location of the metermechanism relative to the case.

The coin door 53 and .the forward end of the strut project through :acoin-receiving passageway which is formed by the chassis plate and aguide plate 58 (see Fig. 10) and communicates vwith the coin slot in theoase. The guide plate 58 is removably secured to the chassis plate sothat the coin-receiving passageway can be readily cleared of anyobstruction therein.

The strut 54 extends across the rear face of the chassis plate and ispivotal-ly mounted on a pin 59 which ex-V 61 is located on the front`face of the chassis plate andis pivoted on a pin 62. at the rear edgethereofl The actuator lever has an arm which extends toward the frontedge of the chassis plate which is naised' and lowered as the actuatorlever is rocked about its pivot.

When the coin door and' strut' Aare in their forward position, as shownin Fig. 7, the strut is held against rotation relative to the actuatorlever by a latch mechanism consisting of a latch member 63V which ispivotally mounted on a pin 64 carried by the chassis plate. The latchmember 63- has an opening 65 therein through VWhich a roller 66 carriedby the strut extends for engagement with a latching surface 67 definedby the opening. A spring 68' urges the latch in a direction to engagethe latching surface with the roll'er on the Ystrut anda tension spring69 connected' between the chassis plate andthe roller on the strut urgesthe strut to its forward position.

The insertion of a coin through the coin slot swings the coin door aboutits pivot point, as indicated in Fig..8, and forces the strutrearwardly. The rearward movement of the strut, which is guided by thelatch andthe actuator lever, causes the actuator lever to be rocked in acounterclockwise direction (as seen in Fig. 6) about its pivot pin 62which raises the forward endl of the actuator lever. As the strutapproaches the rearward limit of its travel, the4 latch 63 comes intocontact with an adjustable eccentric or stop 70 on the chassis platewhich prevents further rearwardvmovement of the latch with vthe strut.The continued rearward movement of the strut under the influence of thecoin causes the roller 66 to move outv of engagement with latchingsurface 67 on the latch and when roller 66 clears the lat'ching surface,the roller is free to move upwardly in the opening 65 in the latch.

When the roller is released from the latch, the actuator lever 61 andthestrut are then free to rotate relative to each other and the actuatorlever is swung in a clockwise direction (as seen in Fig. 7) about itspivot pin 62` bythe action of an actuator spring 72 which returnsjtheactuator lever and the pin 59 carried by the actuator lever to theirinitial position. This moves the rear end of the strut forward while theforward end of the strutv swings upwardly under the inuence of theinserted coin. The upward movement of the strut carries the forward endof the strut and the coin door above Ithe coin and they then moveforwardlyv overthe top of thel coin as shown in Fig. 9. As the coin doormoves upwardly with the strut, the spring 57 tends to swing the coindoor about its pivot on the strut and over the top of the coin.

In normal operation of the meter the coin isl then released by theparker and the str-ut and coin door are returned to their initialposition by the strut spring 69; The downward movement of the strut andcoin door `under the influence of the springV 69 projects thel coinlthrough the coin-receiving passageway and into the entrance ofa coinchute 71. Upon return of the strut to its forward position, the latchingIsurface 67v on the latchy 63 is re-Y illustrated and described hereinwithout departing from the scope of the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a parking meter having a housing enclosing a meter mechanism, saidhousing having a slotted opening therein accessible to the parker andadap-ted for edgewise insertion of a coin therethrough, the combinationwhich includes an actuating lever pivotally supported within thehousing, a door-supporting member pivotally supported on the actuatinglever, said member and said lever being pivoted at spaced points withthe door-supporting member being movable upwardly in an arcuate pathwith respect -to the slotted opening in the housing, a slot closing doorsupported on the door-supporting member, the doorsupporting membernormally supporting the door in slot closing position and beingyieldably movable inwardly by pressure exerted on the door by insertionof a coin through the slotted opening in the housing, a latch engagingwith the door-supporting member and restricting pivotal movement of saidmember relative to the -actuating lever during movement of thedoor-supporting member under the inuence of a coin, a stop positionedfor engagement with the latch upon the movement of the door-supportingmember a distance suliicient to permit the coin to pass through theslotted opening inthe housing, said stop releasing the latch fromengagement with the door-supporting member whereby the door-supportingmember is permitted to swing upwardly on the actuating lever yand overthe top of the coin, and a spring acting on said doorsupporting member,said spring independently urging said member toward door closing andlatch engaging position.

2. In a mechanism for closing an entrance slot in a housing, thecombination comprising a lever pivotally mounted within lthe housing, astrut pivotally mounted on said lever at -a point spaced from thepivotal mounting thereof, said strut having a free end movable upwardlyin van arcuate path with respect to said coin entrance slot in saidhousing, said free end normally being positioned opposite said entranceslot, and latch means engaging with and restricting pivotal movement ofthe strut relative to the lever during movement of the lever and thestrut for a predetermined distance in one direction.

3. In a mechanism for closing an entrance slot in a housing, thecombination as deined -in claim Z which includes a slot-closing doorpivotally mounted on the free end of the strut, said door normally beingyieldably held in engagement with Ian inner wall of the housing by thestrut.

4. In a mechanism for closing an entrance slot in a housing, thecombination as defined in claim Z wherein the latch means includes apivoted latch member, said latch member normally engaging with the strutand restricting pivotal movement of the strut relative to the pivotedlever, and a stop positioned for engagement with the latch member uponmovement of the lever and strut for the predetermined distance in onedirection, said stop thereby releasing the latch member from engagementwith the strut.

5. In a mechanism `for closing an entrance slot in Ia housing, thecombination comprising a lever pivotally mounted within the housing, astrut pivotally mounted on said lever at a point spaced from the pivotalmounting of the lever, said strut having a free end movable upwardly inan arcuate path with respect to said coin entrance slot in said housing,said free end knormally -being positioned opposite said entrance slot, aslot-closing door pivotally supported on the free `encl of the strut andengaging with the inner wall of the housing yadjacent the entrance slot,and latching means engaging with the strut and restricting pivotalmovement of Ithe strut relative Ito the lever during movement of thelever and the strut for a predetermined distance in one direction, saidlatching means including a pivoted latch member, said latch membernormally engaging with the strut and restricting pivotal movement of thestrut relative to the pivoted lever, and a stop positioned forengagement with the latch member upon movement of the lever and strutfor the predetermined distance in one direction, said stop therebyreleasing the latch member from engagement with the strut.

6. In a mechanism for closing an entrance slot in a housing, thecombination as defined in claim 5 which includes a spring connected tothe strut, said spring urging the strut and the door supported thereontoward the slot closing position, and a second spring connected to thelever and urging the lever in a direction opposite to said onedirection.

7. In a parking meter having `a housing enclosing a meter mechanism,said housing having a slotted opening therein accessible to the parkerand adapted for edgewise insertion of a coin therethrough, thecombination which includes a slot closing door located within thehousing, an actuating lever pivotally mounted within the housing, adoor-supporting member pivoted on the actuating lever, said member beingmovable upwardly in an arcuate path with respect to a coin entrance slotin the housing and normally supporting the door in slot closing positionwith the door yieldably pressing against lthe housing, saiddoorsupporting member and said actuating member -being pivoted at spaced'points and being yieldably movable together in movement thereof awayfrom the coin entrance slot, latching means engaging with thedoor-supporting member for restricting pivotal movement of said memberrelative to the actuating lever during said movement thereof, `and meansfor releasing said latching means from engagement with thedoor-supporting member upon the movement of the door-supporting member adistance sufficient to permit the coin to pass through Ithe coinentrance slot and thereby permitting the door-supporting member ltopivot upwardly on the actuating lever.l

8. In a parking meter having a housing enclosing a meter mechanism, saidhousing having a slotted opening therein accessible to the parker andadapted for edgewise insertion of a coin therethrough, the combinationwhich lincludes -a slot closing door located inside of the housing, anactuating lever pivotally mounted within the housing, a door-supportingmember pivoted on vthe actuating lever, said member being movableupwardly in an arcuate path relative to a coin entrance slot in thehousing `and normally supporting the door in slot closing position, saidactuating lever and door-supporting member being pivoted at spacedpoints and' being yieldably movable together away from the coin entranceslot under the inuence of a coin introduced through said slot, a latchengaging with the door-supporting member and restricting pivotalmovement of said member relative to .the actuating lever during saidmovement of said member and the actuating lever under the inuence of acoin, means for releasing said latch from engagement with thedoor-supporting member, said means including a stop positioned forengagement with the latch upon movement of the door-supporting member `adistance suflicient -to permit the coin to pass through the coinentrance slot, and spring means engaging with the door-supportingmember, said spring means urging the door-supporting member toward itsinitial position with respect to the actuating lever ywhen the latch isreleased. Y

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,370,480 Moos Feb. 27, 1945 2,613,792 Broussard Oct. 14, 1952 FOREIGNPATENTS 219,524 Switzerland June 1, 1942 560,534 Great Britain Apr. 7,1944

